Heesu Lee

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung nominated former Naver Corp. chief executive Han Seong Sook as prime minister, setting the stage for the country’s second female premier and elevating a technology executive to one of the nation’s highest political posts.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said his administration will unveil a large-scale investment project aimed at supporting a wider range of future growth engines while also preparing plans to leverage excess tax revenue generated by the semiconductor industry.

South Korea’s economy grew faster at the start of the year than initially estimated, reinforcing the central bank’s increasingly hawkish stance as an artificial intelligence-led export boom fuels business activity.

South Korea’s central bank was already leaning toward higher rates at its May meeting, even with some policymakers who voted to keep borrowing costs unchanged arguing that inflation risks were starting to outweigh the costs of tighter policy.

South Korea’s artificial intelligence-driven semiconductor boom may wind up complicating the inflation outlook, with the central bank warning that soaring bonuses at major technology firms could fuel broader wage growth and stronger consumer demand.

South Korea’s growing investment income from overseas assets may do less to support the won than expected, as a large share of those funds gets retained and reinvested abroad rather than repatriated, according to a Bank of Korea study.

South Korea’s producer prices rose in May at the fastest pace in nearly four years, as higher energy costs and a broad-based increase in industrial prices continued to filter through the economy.

South Korea’s export growth remained robust in early June thanks to a continued boom in the semiconductor sector.

South Korea’s presidential policy chief said policymakers need to consider how gains from the country’s chip-led boom will spread through the broader economy, warning that excess liquidity has historically found its way into the property market.

South Korea’s central bank reinforced its hawkish shift, saying higher interest rates will be needed at an appropriate time as rising home prices, household debt and leveraged investment threaten to stoke financial imbalances.